Improvement in folding tables



M. EMORRIS. FOLDING-TABLE.

'No. 173,659. Patented Feb. 15, 1876.

M IN VENTOR By his .dttorney wbmm UNITED STATES PATENT QFFIOE;

MARSHALL E. MORRIS, OF BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO THE SEWING MACHINE CABINET COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

IMPROVEMENT IN FOLDING TABLES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent N o. 1 73,659, dated February 15, 1876; application filed October 19, 1875.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, MARsHALL E. MORRIS, of Bridgeport, in the county of Fairfield and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Tables, of which the following is a specification:

My invention relates to light tables or stands of that class having legs braced in pairs hinged to the under side of the top at either end in such a manner that they may be folded up against the top when the table is not in use, and-opened out and braced in position at right angles to the top to support it when the table is to be used. My objects are to control the movements of the props by which the legs are braced in position, and firmly tosupport the props when the legs are opened and the table in use.

The subject-matter claimed will hereinafter specifically be set forth.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents a side elevation, and Fig. 2 a bot tom view, of a table with my improvements.

To the under side and near the ends of a table top, A, transverse strips or cleats B B are secured in any suitable manner. Anglepieces or brackets C C C C are attached to the top at or near the edges of the cleats, as shown. Legs D D D D are braced in pairs by cross-bars d d, as usual, and pivoted in the brackets so as to swing toward and against the bottom A, and out therefrom at right angles, the sides of the legs when opened out by preference bearing against the inner vertical faces or sides of the cleats.

Bracing arms or props E'E are attached to the braces or cross-bars (l of the legs by hinges e e, which admit of the props turning on the cross-bars while preventing endwise movement thereon--in this instance the rounded ends of the props abut against the bars. Stops F F, which may be formed by pins passing through the props, are fixed to the props near their outer ends, and bear, when the legs are opened, against guide-loops or staples G G, in which the props move. These guides are so constructed as to prevent lateral or horizontal sidewise play of the props while allowing them limited vertical play, so that they may be moved out from the table props in posit-ion.

folded, it is only necessary to pull or press top a sufficient distance to slide along beneath and against stops H H, fixed to the top on the under side, when the. legs are being folded or opened. Springs I I, secured to the guides, hear at their outer or free ends against the props, which are by preference slightly curved, as shown, and tend to force them to ward the table top, controlling their vertical movement. The ends of the springs should be curved slightly, as shown, to prevent them from cutting into or rapidly wearing away the surfaces of the props.

When the legs are opened to their full extent, the ends of the props abut against the stops H H, the props being forced up to the top by the springs, while the pins F F rest against the guides. The legs are thus securely braced, the springs holding the ends of the When the legs are to be the props against the springs until the ends of the props are moved a sufficient distance from the top to pass beneath and slide against the stops, the guides admitting of sufficient play of the props for this purpose, when the legs may be folded up against-and parallel to the top, in which position the springs will retain them by hearing against the props. In opening the legs, they are swung out at right angles to the top, the

props sliding in their guides, and the springs automatically forcing the ends of the props in place, locking them in position by means of the stop-pins, staples, and fixed stops.

As the sides of the legs, when they are swung out vertically, rest at their upper ends against the inner vertical sides of the cleats B B, it is obvious that the stop-pins F F might be dispensed-with and the cleats relied upon to brace the legs in one directionthat is, against outward movementwhile the stops H H prevent them from swinging inward. I prefer, however, to employ the stoppins, or their equivalents, as an additional security.

I claim asof my own inventio'n 1. The combination of the hinged legs, the hinged props, the stops near the ends of the props, the guides in which the props move endwise and are allowed slight vertical play,

the controlling-springs bearing on the props, and the fixed stops on the under side'of the table-top, these members being constructed and operating substantially as set forth.

2. The combination of the top, the cleats on the under side thereof, the hinged legs, the hinged props, the guides in which the legs slide endwise and play vertically, the springs fixed t0 the guides and bearing upon the props, and the stops upon the under side of the top, these members being constructed and oper- :tt-in g substantially as set forth.

. MARSHALL E. MORRIS. Witnesses:

R. F. SHELDON, J. I. PEYTON. 

